Decision by Netflix to walk away from takeover leaves workers anxious about possible merger of news networks
Netflix’s decision to walk away from its $83bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has left some staffers working at CBS News and CNN panicking about the future as the two top-tier news operations come under the same roof.
With Paramount Skydance emerging as the winning bidder, a deal that still requires the approval of WBD shareholders and government regulators, they fear the merging of the two networks – and, with it, the potential for a significant amount of job cuts. Some CNN employees are also nervous about Paramount’s Trump-friendly ownership and leadership enacting ideologically driven programming changes at the network, with particular concern about the specter of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss possibly getting a significant role.
Weiss, a conservative commentator turned media entrepreneur with no previous television industry experience, has had an uneven tenure at CBS since she was appointed editor-in-chief last October. Her path to the job was paved by concessions that David Ellison and his Skydance Media made to gain the support of Trump-picked regulators to acquire Paramount.
